Successful people are often dissatisfied.
There I said it. It might sound odd, but often it’s true. Here’s why.
The same drive that helped them climb the mountain is often the thing that stops them enjoying the view.
Many highly successful people believe they’ll be happy when they have more.
More progress. More growth. More impact. More improvement. More money. More, more, more!
And while that drive can be brilliant, it can also be exhausting.
There’s another problem. Super successful people often don’t ‘get’ average people.
They look at someone who is making do and think, ‘Why don’t you just change?’
Get up earlier. Make the call. Save the money. Do the training. Read the book. Ask for help. Stop moaning. Start moving.
To them, the answer looks obvious. But here’s the bit they can forget: it’s hard work.
Proper hard work.
And only a few are prepared to do it.
Success has a price. Unquestionably it’s time. Usually it’s pressure. Often it’s missing out.
And sometimes success creates problems you never expected.
I know a super couple whose dream was to own a villa in Spain.
They worked hard. Saved hard. Bought it.
Brilliant.
Two months in they hated it.
Not the villa. The responsibility.
The gardener. The pool cleaner. The repairs. The insurance. The bills. The insects! The feeling that their dream had turned into a job.
One of the hidden lessons of super success: the more you create, the more you rely on others to help you look after it.
But don’t write off being a super success.
Success is personal.
For one person it’s medals, money and recognition.
For another it’s freedom, health and picking the grandkids up from school.
For someone else it’s building a business, writing a book, making a difference or simply sleeping well at night.
The danger is chasing someone else’s version and then wondering why it doesn’t feel like winning.
I have some super successful clients who’ve worked it out. Want to know their secret?
Truly successful people live by their values.
They’re aligned.
They know what’s important. They know how much is enough. They know what they’re willing to sacrifice and (more importantly) what they’re not.
Get it right and you have achievement, satisfaction and the magic word… happiness.
That feels like my kind of success.
Be Brilliant!
Michael
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